In a photoresist process as one of semiconductor manufacturing processes, resist has been applied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as “wafer”), and exposed in a predetermined pattern and then, developed so as to form a resist pattern. These processes are generally performed using a system in which an exposing apparatus is connected to a resist applying and developing apparatus for applying and developing the resist.
The resist applying and developing apparatus includes a resist applying module to apply the resist on the wafer and a developing module to supply a developing liquid. In addition to these modules, the resist applying and developing apparatus further includes modules for heating and cooling configured to heat or cool the wafer before and after the processing of the wafer in the resist applying module and the developing module. And, the wafer is carried between these modules by a carrying means such as a carrying arm.
In this respect, it has been considered that a double patterning method is used to allow a feature size of the resist pattern to be finer. In summarizing the double patterning method, a first resist applying process, a first exposure process and a first developing process are performed in this order to form a first resist pattern on the wafer. And then, after a process protecting the shape of the first resist pattern is performed, the wafer is further subjected to a second resist applying process and a second exposure process. In the second exposure process, wafer W is exposed to an area deviated from the area exposed in the first exposure process. Thereafter, a second developing process is performed to form a second resist pattern.
Upon performing such a double patterning method, it has been considered that a slimming process is performed which allows a wall part of the resist pattern formed by each of the first and the second developing processes to be thinned and an aperture width of the resist pattern to become widened so as to achieve a desired pattern dimension. In this slimming process, after the resist pattern is formed, a developing liquid which is at a higher temperature than a room temperature developing liquid used in forming the resist pattern is supplied to the wafer so as to modify the surface layer of the pattern wall. Further, an acid containing chemical liquid is supplied to the wafer to be penetrated into the modified surface layer of the pattern wall, and then the room temperature developing liquid is supplied to the wafer to remove the modified surface.
On the other hand, in a conventional developing module for forming the resist pattern, the temperature of the developing liquid is regulated up to the entry of the module, so that the room temperature developing liquid can be supplied from a nozzle to the wafer. However, in such a conventional developing facility, it may be difficult to supply a high temperature developing liquid capable of performing the slimming process from the nozzle. Accordingly, being separated from the conventional developing module, it may be considered that a developing module to supply the high temperature developing liquid is provided in the applying and developing apparatus, and the wafer is transferred between these modules to be processed. However, since the number of the modules is increased and the carrying time of the wafer is also increased by doing so, the throughput of the wafer is decreased. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publications No. 2005-210059 (e.g., paragraph 0040) and No. 2005-286231 (e.g., paragraph 0040 and FIG. 6) describe a developing apparatus capable of regulating the temperature of the developing liquid supplied to the wafer. However, the developing apparatus described in these Publications just aims to control the shape of the pattern in a normal developing process, but cannot perform the normal developing process and a process for modifying a surface of the pattern as mentioned above. Accordingly, these developing apparatus cannot overcome the above situation.